Table 4.
Mean Symptom Duration (Months) in Year Before Diagnosis by Cultural/Folk Beliefs and Religiosity/Spirituality Characteristics
| Adjusteda | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mean | p-value | |
| Cultural/folk beliefs | ||
| “Air causes a cancer to grow faster” | ||
| Agree | 7.6 | 0.02 |
| Not agree | 6.4 | |
| “Surgery causes a cancer to grow faster” | ||
| Agree | 7.1 | 0.56 |
| Not agree | 6.6 | |
| “People with high blood pressure are more likely to get cancer” | ||
| Agree | 6.7 | 0.94 |
| Not agree | 6.7 | |
| “Someone can give you cancer by putting a root or spell on you” | ||
| Agree | 8.6 | 0.35 |
| Not agree | 6.7 | |
| “If a person worries about their cancer, it will get worse” | ||
| Agree | 6.9 | 0.25 |
| Not agree | 6.5 | |
| “If a person prays about cancer, God will heal it without medical treatment” | ||
| Agree | 6.9 | 0.56 |
| Not agree | 6.6 | |
| “The devil can cause a person to get cancer” | ||
| Agree | 6.7 | 0.92 |
| Not agree | 6.7 | |
| “When I get sick, I am to blame” | ||
| Agree | 6.7 | 0.87 |
| Not agree | 6.7 | |
| “If it's meant to be, I will stay healthy” | ||
| Agree | 7.1 | 0.16 |
| Not agree | 6.4 | |
| “Health professionals control my health” | ||
| Agree | 6.0 | 0.05 |
| Not agree | 6.9 | |
| Religiosity/spirituality | ||
| Religious service attendance | ||
| ≤1 × /month | 7.3 | |
| 2–3 × /month | 6.7 | 0.32 |
| 1 × /week | 6.6 | 0.06 |
| Several times/week | 6.2 | 0.01 |
| Frequency of prayer | ||
| ≤1 × /week | 7.4 | |
| Several times/week | 5.1 | 0.11 |
| 1–2 × /day | 7.0 | 0.41 |
| Many times/day | 6.6 | 0.26 |
| Extent religion/spirituality involved in dealing with stressful situations | ||
| Not at all/not very | 5.9 | |
| Somewhat | 6.9 | 0.64 |
| Very | 6.7 | 0.74 |
| Extent you consider yourself a religious/spiritual person | ||
| Not/slightly | 6.7 | |
| Moderately | 7.1 | 0.92 |
| Very | 6.5 | 0.58 |
a
Adjusted for age, education, income, geographic region, BMI, family history of breast/ovarian cancer, oral contraceptive use, and parity.